Petersburg’s dance troupe is fundraising $300,000 to buy the church building they’ve been using as a studio for years. Mitkof Dance Troupe has been interested in buying the building ever since services ended at St. Andrews Episcopal Church last July.
But, Executive Director Olivia Reid said the organization encountered a hurdle.
“Our challenge right now is that, because we are a nonprofit run by a volunteer board, securing a traditional bank loan is very very difficult,” she said.
That means Mitkof Dance Troupe has turned to fundraising to cover the cost of buying the building. They’re looking for grant funding and individual donations.
Reid said the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska has been working with the dance troupe to figure out the sale. She said right now, there’s no hard fundraising deadline.
“The church has been really wonderful, and they do want to work with us to sell us the building because they see the value in the space,” she said.
She says the building has been a longtime home for the dance troupe, who have invested money into improving the space. The building also means a lot to the kids that use it.
“I think for a lot of the kids, especially the ones that have been there forever, it’s just really, really familiar, and it kind of feels like home,” she said. “They can walk from their other sports. They can walk from school. There’s a space they can hang out and do homework if they need to in between classes.”
Mitkof Dance Troupe has an online fundraiser on its website, and has $10,000 in matching funds available from local nonprofit Petersburg Mental Health through September.
Reid said the dance troupe is planning more fundraisers in the coming months.
